Personal cleansing products have traditionally been marketed in a variety of forms such as bar soaps, creams, lotions, and gels. These cleansing formulations have attempted to satisfy a number of criteria to be acceptable to consumers. These criteria include cleansing effectiveness, skin feel, mildness to skin, hair, and ocular mucosae, and lather volume. Ideal personal cleansers should gently cleanse the skin or hair, cause little or no irritation, and not leave the skin or hair overly dry after frequent use.
However, these traditional forms of personal cleansing products have the inherent problem of balancing cleansing efficacy against delivering a conditioning benefit. One solution to this problem is to use separate cleansing and conditioning products. However, this is not always convenient or practical and many consumers would prefer to use a single product which can both cleanse and condition the skin or hair. In a typical cleansing composition the conditioning ingredients are difficult to formulate because many conditioners are incompatible with the surfactants, resulting in an undesirable non-homogenous mixture. To obtain a homogeneous mixture with conditioning ingredients, and to prevent the loss of conditioning ingredients before deposition, additional ingredients, e.g. emulsifiers, thickeners, and gellants are often added to suspend the conditioning ingredients within the surfactant mixture. This results in an aesthetically pleasing homogenous mixture, but often results in poor deposition of conditioning ingredients, because the conditioners are emulsified and not efficiently released during cleansing. Also, many conditioning agents have the disadvantage of suppressing lather generation. Lather suppression is a problem because many consumers seek cleansing products that provide a rich, creamy, and generous lather.
Therefore, it is seen that conventional cleansing products which attempt to combine surfactants and conditioning ingredients suffer from disadvantages inherently resulting from the incompatibilities of surfactants and conditioners. A need clearly exists to develop cleansing systems which provide effective cleansing and yet consistently provide sufficient conditioning in a single product.
It is also highly desirable to deliver cleansing and conditioning benefits from a disposable, single use product. Disposable products are convenient because they obviate the need to carry cumbersome bottles, bars, jars, tubes, and other forms of both cleansing and conditioning products. Disposable products are also a more sanitary alternative to the use of a sponge, washcloth, or other cleansing implement intended for multiple reuse, because such implements develop bacterial growth, unpleasant odors, and other undesirable characteristics related to repeated use.
It has been surprisingly found in the present invention that products can be developed to provide effective cleansing and consistent conditioning in a convenient, inexpensive, and sanitary disposable personal cleansing product. The present invention provides the convenience of not needing to use both a separate cleansing and conditioning product. The present invention is highly convenient to use because it is in the form of a substantially dry product that is wetted before use.
It has additionally been found that consumer usage habits of disposable article having two surfaces vary considerably. "Lathering" is achieved by rubbing the surfaces of the article on or against each other prior to use article. If the surface containing the conditioning agents is used to lather and the same surface is used to contact the skin or hair, deposition of the conditioning agents is considerably decreased due to emulsification of the conditioning agents by the surfactant. If, however, the surface not containing the conditioning agents (e.g., a surfactant containing surface) is rubbed together to produce the lather and the surface containing the conditioning agents is then used to contact the skin or hair, maximum deposition of conditioning agents is achieved. If both surfaces of the article is treated with the conditioning agents, the same inconsistent deposition can result. Maximum deposition of conditioning agents would result only if a non-lathered surface containing conditioning agents is contacted with the skin or hair.
It has been surprisingly found that if the conditioning component (the combination of the conditioning agents) has a minimum lipid hardness value of 0.02 kg., this inconsistent deposition of conditioning agents is considerably diminished. It is believed that increasing conditioning component hardness decreases transfer within the substrate and also decreases emulsification of the conditioning agents by the surfactants during the lathering step. As a result, more of the conditioning agents remain available for mechanical transfer via contact with the skin or hair.
The present invention relates to a dry, disposable, personal cleansing product useful for both cleansing and conditioning the skin or hair. These products are used by the consumer by wetting the dry product with water. The product consists of a water insoluble substrate, a surfactant, and a conditioning component having a lipid hardness value of at least 0.02 kg. Without being limited by theory, it is believed that the substrate enhances lathering at low surfactant levels, increases cleansing and exfoliation, and optimizes delivery and deposition of the conditioning ingredients. It is also believed that having a lipid hardness value of at least 0.02 kg. provides greater efficient and consistent deposition of conditioning agents to the skin or hair. As a result, this invention provides effective cleansing using low, and hence less irritating, levels of surfactant while providing superior conditioning benefits in a consistent and efficient manner. It has also been found that these products are useful for delivering a wide range of active ingredients to the skin or hair during the cleansing process.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide substantially dry products for both cleansing and conditioning the skin or hair wherein the products are used in combination with water.
It is another object of the present invention to provide products comprising a water insoluble substrate, a surfactant, and a conditioning component having a lipid hardness value of at least 0.02 kg.
It is another object of the present invention to provide products which are disposable and intended for single use.
It is another object of the present invention to provide products which are mild to the skin or hair.
It is another object of the present invention to provide products useful for delivering active ingredients to the skin or hair during the cleansing and conditioning process.
It is another object of the present invention to provide methods of cleansing and conditioning the skin or hair.
It is another object of the present invention to provide methods of consistently providing deposition of the conditioning agents.
It is another object of the present invention to provide methods of manufacturing the products of the present invention.
These and other objects of this invention will become apparent in light of the following disclosure.